Dell seeks incentives to produce in India

US-based PC manufacturer Dell today announced it had plans to set up a manufacturing base in India, depending on incentives provided by states.

"The company is talking to state governments to decide a location for the manufacturing facility. The decision depends on logistics, cooperation from state governments and an able work force," Dell's Chief Executive Officer Kevin Rollins said.

Rollins met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today and conveyed to him that his company had plans to set up a manufacturing base in the country.

"We told him that when Dell sets up a manufacturing base at a location, a whole eco-system of suppliers and logistics gets built around it," Rollins said.

"We have concluded that the time is right to consider a manufacturing site in India but are still considering the locations," Rollins said.

The company has announced the setting up of a new contact centre in Gurgaon. Dell will also increase its staff strength in India from the present 10,000 to 15,000 over the next two years.

Rollins, who is on the last leg of his tour of China, Japan, Malaysia and India, said Dell would employ about 700-1,000 people at its new Gurgaon contact centre.

"The Gurgaon centre, which is the company's fourth in India, will house 700-1000 people and is expected to be operational in 2007," said Romi Malhotra, MD, Dell Services (India).

Apart from operating contact centres, the company also employs 300 engineers in developing and testing enterprise products, including servers and storage systems.

The company is also planing to increase the size of its research and development work force in India to 600 engineers over the next two years.